Christmas cake ... it's almost that time of year

Gosh, it has been ages since I posted anything :-(  Being on crutches was definitely not very helpful when it came to cooking but I am pleased to say that I can now walk almost normally and that as of yesterday I don't have to use my sticks anymore!  Hooray!  That in turn means that there will be no holding me back from trying out recipes again and skipping around in the kitchen - well, not so much skipping but you get the idea.

At the weekend I did manage to start making our Christmas cake.  I usually make two cakes - one to take home to the family in Germany and one for us to have when we are back home.  I love this particular recipe as you can make it a few weeks in advance or if pushed for time, a couple of days before Christmas.  I love how the flavours develop when you prepare it ahead of time, so that's what I usually do.  I also use a shallower tin, making a much "flatter" cake than is traditional but I always find that it is quite rich with all that fruit and icing, so smaller pieces are not necessarily a bad thing.  There is a non-alcohol option to this cake, using orange juice instead of brandy (although there is not that much of the latter in there anyway).  The decorations pictured are those from last year - I'm still thinking of what the design should look like this year, so watch this space. 

How to make an easy & tasty Christmas cake

Banana & oat smoothie with a spice twist

Banana & oat smoothie

It's been a few days since my last post.  I've not really been able to do much exploring of new recipes as I sit here with my leg on ice after tearing my calf muscle.  Cooking whilst on strong painkillers is probably not the best idea, so food is pretty basic these days.  I am hoping that I will get back into it soon though as I do miss my little blog and writing about food.

What I can mention though is this delicious idea for when time is tight but you want something nutritious, even on the go: a banana & oat smoothie made with almond milk, a dollop of peanut butter and finished off with a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Whisked up in the blender it makes for a lovely breakfast or snack before exercising.  You can obviously change the ingredients but I think the spices go ever so well with banana and oats.  Yummy!

It's been quite a busy week and I am looking forward to the weekend with Mr Happy Larder and Keith the dog.  There will be some dog walking (in the rain, unfortunately), a visit to friends

Bread rolls

Not so much a recipe today as an idea of how to shape some lovely dinner rolls out of pretty much any bread dough (I used my fluffy white sandwich loaf recipe - see here).

Simply roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a round (resembling a large pizza base) - it should be roughly half a centimeter in thickness.  Then, using a knife or ideally a pizza wheel cut the round into what would look like 12 equal pizza slices/triangles.

Roll each of the pieces up, starting from the widest end and you will get these little "croissant" shapes.  Bake in a hot oven for about 10 minutes or until golden.

Aren't they cute? They'd look lovely in a bread basket when you have guests and go ever so well with soup, pate...you name it.  A nice change from just the usual round dinner rolls.

Spanish tortilla with sweet potatoes & spinach

We've had some epic storms over the last couple of days but luckily, our part of the world appears to have escaped the worst.  I took the dog down to the beach as our usual walk in the park - a park full of old trees - just didn't seem safe.  Keith loved chasing around in the sand despite the rain and eventually the sun came out to say hello. 

I woke up really early this morning - not woken by the storm but by dreaming of scrambled eggs on toast.  It must have made me hungry in my sleep and that woke me up.  I wonder if other people dream of food the way I do - I can smell and taste it even when I am asleep :-)

With a craving for eggs there was only one thing to do - I made a Spanish tortilla for lunch but with sweet potato instead of "normal" ones.  It was delicious and very quick to make, so if you are ever after a fast meal, I can recommend this one.  Plus it's nutritious and filling - can't be a bad thing.  I had mine with a simple tomato & chive salad - yum!  The 2 pieces on the photo are half the tortilla (erm - I ate the rest of it too :-))

Cauliflower pizza...whaaat?

Cauliflower pizza

Isn't it funny how every now and again a new food fad appears out of nowhere?  First, we had goji berries, then chia seeds and now it is the humble cauliflower that is hitting the headlines with even Jamie Oliver making cauliflower "rice".  I must admit I was intrigued when I heard about cauliflower pizza and had to give it a go.  Stop that bandwagon - I am jumping on!

Believe it or not but the result was a really tasty pizza!  I couldn't quite believe it myself, especially since it didn't taste of cauliflower.  The base was probably not quite as crispy as a conventional pizza, so it could have done with a few more minutes in the oven but I was hungry, so I had to have it there and then :-)  

It was very tasty - what a great way to have more vegetables! And you can still have your favourite pizza toppings and freeze the pizza before the final bake if you want to have it another day.  Perfect!

Fruitcake cookies/biscuits

Brrr - it is horribly wet out there!  Feeling very fortunate that after getting soaked on the dog walk first thing this morning we could return to a warm and dry house. 

Fruit cake cookies / biscuits

I guess it is no wonder that I am starting to feel very Christmassy and the recipe I found at the weekend reflects that perfectly: fruitcake cookies/biscuits.  These delicious treats are full of yummy dried fruit and nuts and warming spices - perfect on a cold and/or wet day!  I saw these made on Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa" TV show and knew they'd be just the right thing for us: the perfect cookie/biscuit to go with a warming cup of tea :-) 

The dried fruit is best left to soak overnight if you want a stronger flavour and the dough also needs to rest in the fridge to firm up, so best to plan ahead when making these.  They are definitely worth the wait!

Rum truffle cake balls - a delicious treat made from leftovers

I was really struggling to give today's recipe an appropriate name but I hope rum truffle cake balls describes roughly what they are :-)  These are actually quite popular in Germany (they are called "Rumkugeln" there) and I first came across these in my uncle's bakery when I was a little girl.  Traditionally made from leftover cake, they are the perfect way to avoid food waste whilst making something delicious. 

Rum truffle cake balls

When my cake went dry very quickly the other day, I knew immediately what to do with it - turn it into these little treats!  You can use just rum flavouring if you want to keep the alcohol content down (and serve to kids) but with just 2 tablespoons of rum for the whole lot, you are not going to get drunk eating these :-)

They remind me of my uncle and of sleepovers at the bakery - happy times!

Sweet potato bake

Sweet potato bake

I've recently started doing hot yoga classes - sweaty stuff.  Doing exercises in a room heated to 37 C sure makes for a hungry tummy afterwards.  Yesterday, I prepared my dinner before going out to the class which was great because when I got back all I needed to do was put the dish in the oven and wait for 30 minutes. 

I made a sweet potato bake - slices of sweet potato with chorizo and vegetables in a creamy sauce, baked in the oven and served with homemade garlic bread (see the recipe here) and some salad.  You could also use "normal" potatoes for this dish or a mixture of both and serve it as a side dish rather than a main meal..  Simply chuck in any leftover vegetables, bits of ham or whatever you fancy or turn it into a vegetarian dish by leaving the chorizo (or any other meat) out.  Easy & tasty - my kind of meal!

Tikka masala curry

It's been a busy weekend with lots of socialising, catching up on long overdue phone calls, exercising, the usual housework...you get the picture.  It also was Keith the dog's second birthday on Saturday - happy birthday furry friend! 

I found a great little recipe I'd like to share with you because it's ideal for those busy times when you just need dinner to (mostly) cook itself.  I love meals that you can just throw into a pot without much preparation needed.  This one is a tikka masala curry, cooked on a low heat in the oven whilst you can get on with other stuff.  Making a batch or two of this at the weekend to have later in the week or keep in the freezer will save a lot of time and hassle and you can be sure to have a delicious meal to hand when you are short of time.

The one I made was with chicken breast but it would be equally nice with chicken thighs, lamb or beef.  Or why not make a vegetarian option with potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower etc?  We enjoyed our chicken one with rice and steamed broccoli on the side - it wasn't greasy like curries can sometimes be and had lots and lots of flavour.  We'll definitely be having this again and next time I will double the amount and put some in the freezer as well.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Have a good start to your week!